Six weeks from today, the trek eastward from Newport, Oregon to Atlantic City, NJ will begin! The past month has gone well for planning the trip (new bike, determining routes/stops, partnering with a foundation, and all the logistics that go with getting a person and a bicycle to the west coast). Going through this process has conjured up a lot of memories from last year's trip.
One of the remarkable memories from the trip last year was crossing paths with a trio of cyclists a few times in Montana. Our routes were somewhat similar, and this led to Garrett and I wondering where we might cross paths with them next. Unfortunately, we did not see them again after they went southward toward Helena, MT. However, we did see a makeshift sign of theirs taped to a "Welcome to North Dakota" sign post. This was reassuring to see that they had made it out of Montana and further onward along their trip. Their sign had information about the fundraising that they were doing along their trip. These guys were riding for a cause (raising money for cancer research), which in an odd way made me think that out trip was somewhat selfish. I also thought: "why couldn't I do something like that?" Truly, these fellows were a source of inspiration.
For this upcoming trip, I have partnered with the Lustgarten Foundation, which aims to advance the scientific and medical research related to the diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of pancreatic cancer. To me, one of their most noteworthy principles is that 100% of donations go directly to funding research! I am grateful for any support you can offer. If you would like to help me in reaching my fundraising goal of $10,000, please visit this page: http://www.lustgarten.org/nelson
More to come prior to the trip. Now that the marathon is over, I can finally get some rides in on the new bike; here it is:
